Time-Turner

Would you believe me if I told you that the first thing I did on my birthday this year was running?

Perhaps one reason for my determination to run is birthday cake celebration the night before my birthday, and anticipation of more cakes to follow. I ran fast because my daughter texted me the minute past midnight, asking to be the very first one to say happy birthday to me.

Of course, there are many other reasons for me to run. I have a hunch that my genes and stress since childbirth call for more exercise to get me back on the right direction. Since I was a low birth weight preterm baby nearly half a century ago, the "famine" environment might have increased my odds of developing obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Still the odds! Priming from early-life exposure to "famine" nutrition, and subsequent mismatch with overnutrition, can forebode a unhealthy body, or what we call "thrifty phenotype."

Fast forward to my current middle-age race against the clock. I know pretty well my physical strength should have peaked years ago. I am running to stalk degeneration, instead of trying to turn the clock back. All of which is to say that I may not be as successful as Hermione who managed to travel back in time (as what she did in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) by means of a charm she wears around her neck. I can't. But I can run faster than the clock, on a positive note.